Mairi's Wedding

Scottish Poem By John Bannerman

Mairi's Wedding (also known as Marie's Wedding, the Lewis Bridal Song, or Mairi Bhan) is a Scottish folk song originally written in Gaelic by John Roderick Bannerman (1865-1938) for Mary C. MacNiven (1905-1997) on the occasion of her winning the gold medal at the National Mòd (the main festival of Scottish Gaelic literature, song, arts and culture) in 1934.

J.R. Bannerman, who composed the original song, was born in South Uist but left aged seven for Glasgow. He was brought up in the Glasgow Gaelic community where most social activities were conducted in Gaelic and he developed a lifelong interest in the songs and literature of that culture.

Sir Hugh Stevenson Roberton (who had collaborated with John R. Bannerman on other songs) wrote the English words for "Mairi's Wedding", which bore little resemblance to Bannerman's original and make no reference to the original inspiration for the song, the winning of a Mòd gold medal.

H.S. Roberton published this in 1936, giving the song the alternative title of "The Lewis Bridal Song" and presented an original signed copy of his score to Mary C. MacNiven which became one of her most prized possessions.